SPRING2018 the Chindit Column The boldest measures are the safest

Our Aims and Objectives for the Society To protect and maintain the legacy and good name of the and their great deeds during the Burma Campaign.

To carry that name forward into the public domain, through presentations and education.

To gather together and keep safe The Chairman’s Message Chindit writings, memoirs and A warm welcome to all members. As you will see, our editor has other treasures for the benefit of produced another excellent newsletter. This one especially, as it future generations. commemorates the 75th Anniversary of Operation Longcloth. I would like to congratulate all those committee members involved To assist families and other in the production of the Longcloth Diary on our website. Please log interested parties in seeking out the on and read about the progress of the Chindits on a day-by-day basis. I wish to remind all members about the Memorial Service to history of their Chindit relative or be held at The National Memorial Arboretum on Saturday 9th loved one. June 2018, followed by the Annual Chindit Dinner at the Village Hotel in Walsall. Attendance and Dinner Booking forms are Wherever possible, to ensure the enclosed. An order of service will follow shortly and I look continued well being of all our forward to seeing you there. Finally, please take a peek at our Chindit veterans. merchandise page, where, amongst other items, we have produced a special 75th Anniversary tie. Inside this issue

Agnes McGearey Chindwin Dinner New Merchandise Page 5 Pages 6 & 7 Page 12 Read about our An event hosted by Take a look at our Chindits favourite the new 77 Brigade new range of Nurse. on 27th January Chindit Society 2018. merchandise.

THE CHINDIT COLUMN SPRING 2018 Chindit Centenarian John Walkinton

John Riggs writes about his old friend, John Walkinton who celebrated his 100th birthday on 10th January 2018.

At the outbreak of WW2 John was working in Palestine with a citrus fruit export firm. A few years previously he had been in the Territorial Army, but had to resign when he went abroad to work. When war was declared, John applied to the Middle East GHQ, and was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, The Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment.

He saw service with them in Greece, Syria and the Lebanon and then in September 1941 the battalion joined 14th Brigade under the command of the 70th Infantry Division. Also included in this Division were 16th and 23rd Brigades, all of whom became Chindits on Operation Thursday. Previously in 1941, the whole Division had been transported by the Royal Navy from Alexandria to Tobruk in Libya; the port was besieged by the German Afrika Korps, who were very keen to capture it. The British, Australians, Poles and other Allied forces kept the enemy out. When the siege ended in November 1941, the Division withdrew to Egypt.

Early in 1942, the whole Division was transported to India. The individual Brigades were tasked as independent groups with some Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, RAMC Field Hospitals and so on attached, and dispersed widely across the country. The Brigades performed internal security duties, as Gandhi and the banned Congress Party were causing unrest and rioting all over India.

In the autumn of 1943, the 14th Brigade commander summoned all the officers to parade. He had with him a Colonel from the Black Watch who told us that we were to take part in a Long Range Penetration operation deep into Burma. Each battalion was to be divided into two separate columns and lose all its vehicles, which would be replaced by mules. At the time 14th Brigade was stationed near Bangalore in Southern India, 16th Brigade was in Ceylon and 23rd Brigade elsewhere far away.

All these Brigades were moved to Northern India to a more suitable part of the country. The reorganisation into columns led to a number of men leaving the battalion. This included John Walkinton who went on a succession of staff jobs over the next few months. Eventually he was placed at Chindit HQ under Wingate and later Lentaigne. Operation Thursday ended in July/August 1944 and soon after the Chindits were disbanded. John Walkinton was repatriated to the UK and the following year demobilised from the Army. The 77th Brigade Collect Almighty Father, Our sure hope and safe stronghold; Grant, we beseech Thee, that we, thy servants of 77th Brigade, May be wise as serpents and innocent as doves And, resolving that the boldest measures are the safest, May in all things and all places Conduct ourselves with dauntless courage in the service of Justice and Truth, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

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The 75th Anniversary of Operation Longcloth

Seventy-five years ago, on the 15th February Brigadier Wingate later remarked: 1943, the first of Wingate’s Chindits crossed Although some of us did not come back. They over the Chindwin River and began their have done something for their country. They incursion into enemy held territory. Their aim, have demonstrated a new kind of warfare, the to prove the theories of Long Range Penetration combination of the oldest with the newest and moreover, the potential and power of methods. They have not been thrown away. keeping a Brigade in the field, supplied entirely from the air. We have proved today that we can beat the Japanese on his own chosen ground. And as Over 3000 men and mules went into Burma here, so will it be elsewhere. that year, but sadly, many would never return from their trials behind enemy lines.

As already announced in January, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the first Wingate expedition, there will be a memorial service held at the National Arboretum, Alrewas, followed by the Chindit Society Annual Dinner at the Village Hotel, Walsall on Saturday 9th June 2018.

Further information about this event, including booking details for the Village Hotel, can be found on the separate forms attached to this newsletter.

The Chindit Society’s own website now contains a week-to-week diary, marking the progress of the first Wingate expedition in 1943. The diary includes extracts from Bernard Fergusson’s book, Beyond the Chindwin, alongside many contemporary photographs taken from inside Burma. To access the diary please click on the following link: http://thechinditsociety.org.uk/operation-longcloth

Did You Know?

That W.D.A. Lentaigne was appointed the Acting Commander of Special Force, from 7th October to the 10th November 1943, while Major-General Wingate was in hospital. This promotion period thus enabled him to achieve and retain the rank of Acting (Unpaid) Major General from that point onward. It may also throw some light on why he, and not Michael Calvert eventually assumed command of the 3rd Indian Infantry Division after Wingate’s untimely death.

At Comilla on the 5th May 1944, 51 Column received a surprise visit from an ENSA touring party, including Vera Lynn. The Chindits had only recently been flown out of Burma from the Aberdeen stronghold at Manhton.

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A Warm Welcome for a Hero

At 1600 hours on the 4th July 2007, a Virgin Atlantic flight from New Delhi landed at Heathrow’s Terminal 3. On board was one Tul Bahadur Pun VC. After several months’ deliberation, the British Government had finally agreed to grant Tul Bahadur a settlement visa for the UK. Taken from the Daily Mail newspaper dated 2nd June 2007: A Gurkha war hero will be allowed to stay in the UK after the Home Office backed down in the face of mounting criticism. The Home Secretary, John Reid remarked: This decision was not taken lightly and reflects the extraordinary nature of this case, in particular Mr. Pun’s heroic record in service of Britain, which saw him awarded the . It is entirely right that this record should not only be recognised but also honoured. We have also taken in to account his current medical condition. The 84 year-old Gurkha’s actions on the 23rd June 1944, won him Royal admirers at that time and he was invited to the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and had tea with the Queen Mother. The Home Office sparked outrage when it originally declined a settlement visa, stating that Tul Bahadur had failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK. Mr. Pun, who receives a £130 per month Army pension, wishes to move from because of his failing health. He has to travel a whole day to a Gurkha camp to collect his pension and has to be carried in a basket by several men from his village. Indian born actress, has led a campaign to allow Tul Bahadur to come and live in Britain. She stated: I have known the name Bahadur Pun since I was four. He was an absolute hero in our household because he saved so many lives through his bravery in 1944, including that of my own father. We owe this man a huge debt and it is disgraceful he could be treated so badly by our government. He is suffering from very poor health and cannot easily receive the medical attention he needs in Nepal. Tul Bahadur Pun eventually settled down in the Borough of Hounslow, where he lived for 4 years. On the 20th April 2011, during a brief visit home to Nepal to open a school in the village of Myagdi, Tul Bahadur unexpectedly passed away. Listen to a Chindit Memoir

The audio memoir for Deryck Groocock a Pilot with 194 Squadron RAF can now be listened to on line. Please follow the link below to the website of the Imperial War Museum and enjoy hearing about his many wartime experiences:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012291

A short audio memoir for Lt. Jack Osborne, who led Nigerian soldiers on Operation Thursday, can be listened to from this link:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2011/08/2011830151959776284.html

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Chindit Gallantry Awards 1943-44 One of the regular features in forthcoming newsletters will be the transcription of official recommendations for various Chindit awards for gallantry, of which there were many.

Matron Agnes Kennedy McGearey was born in 1909 at Mossend, a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. By the end of WW2, her name would become synonymous with that of the Chindits and her efforts to rebuild the strength of those soldiers who survived these campaigns would become of legend. Agnes, known to her nursing colleagues as Aggie, became a Staff Nurse within the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service on the 16th April 1934. After her early service with the unit, including a posting to Malta in 1937 and promotion to Acting Matron, she was awarded the Associate of the Royal Red Cross, which was announced in the London Gazette in July 1941. Agnes McGearey was working in India at the 19th Casualty Clearing Station, based at Imphal at the time of the first Wingate expedition. The small hospital was really only a collection of roughly constructed basha type huts made from bamboo and with raffia grass roofs. As the exhausted and disease stricken Chindits began to re-cross the Chindwin in late April 1943, they were sent immediately to the 19th C.C.S. and into the care of Matron McGearey. From the book, Wingate in Peace and War, written by Major General Derek Tulloch: Upon arrival at Imphal everyone had to go into hospital. Those who were fit would be examined and discharged in a couple of days, and those who were not would be detained. They were admitted to Matron Agnes McGearey, who on appearance seemed just like any other Army Matron. She gave them a smiling welcome and packed them off to bed. During the next few days we came to know her true worth; she was not only a very efficient Matron, she was a mother to them all. For her efforts in tending the sick and wounded Chindits in 1943, Agnes McGearey was awarded the M.B.E. Her recommendation reads: This nurse has been Matron of the 19 CCS from 24th January 1943 to date. During this period 19 CCS acted as a hospital for returning Longcloth personnel. Miss McGearey displayed unbounded zeal, energy and initiative in supervising the welfare and rehabilitation of these patients. On the 22nd April 1943, during an air raid in which 19 CCS was heavily bombed, Miss McGearey showed courage and coolness in directing the evacuation of her patients and equipment from a ward, which had been set on fire. As a footnote to this story, Matron McGearey also successfully tended Major General Wingate through a life- threatening bout of typhoid in October 1943, just prior to the raising of the following years Chindit Brigades. Sadly, Agnes died from the effects of cancer on the 9th December 1954, whilst living in .

The photograph (left) shows Matron Agnes McGearey with a group of Chindit survivors from Operation Longcloth.

These gentlemen are eleven of the eighteen soldiers picked up by the RAF Dakota, that landed in the Burmese jungle at Sonpu on the 28th April 1943. This was after Major Scott had arranged the now famous Chindit ground signal: Plane Land Here Now.

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THE CHINDIT COLUMN SPRING 2018 77th Brigade’s Chindwin Dinner

On Saturday 27th January this year, 77th Brigade origins and development of Orde Wingate’s Long commemorated the 75th Anniversary of the start of Range Penetration theory, using his experiences in Operation Longcloth. Chindit and Sudan, Palestine and Ethiopia, culminating in him veterans and their families/supporters, as well as raising the original 77th Brigade in India in 1942. key Chindit Society members and other external Steve Fogden, the Chindit Society’s own Archivist, guests, were invited to make the event even more then gave an expert personal presentation on special. Operation Longcloth. His talk was full of interesting details, illustrated by some wonderful The Chindit veterans who attended were Bill Smyly, photos and always emphasising the human Peter Heppell, Horace Howkins and Reg Salisbury. perspective; indeed, his own grandfather was The Burma Star Association was represented by captured during the operation, ultimately to die as a their Chairman and veteran, John Giddings MBE. Prisoner of War in Rangoon Jail. Sadly, the Viscount Slim was unable to attend, but other guests included Holly and Alice Wingate, Everyone then changed for dinner and reassembled George Fergusson (son of Bernard Fergusson, who in the Officers’ Mess Ante Room for drinks. The commanded No 5 Column on Operation Longcloth room was a splendid mixture of , gold, black, and 16th Brigade on Operation Thursday), Lt Col yellow and even more exotic colours of Mess Kit, (Retd) Tony Groves, ex-6th Gurkha Rifles (whose Dinner Jackets, Chindit blazers, medals, evening mother’s cousin was a Spitfire pilot shot down and dresses and Peter Wall’s tie! A key local dignitary killed at Broadway on 17th March 1944), and the joined at this stage in the form of the Rt. Hon Chindit Society committee members, led by the Richard Benyon, MP for Newbury, himself a former Chairman, Paul Shenton JP. officer with Royal Green Jackets (Rifles).

The event started with a series of presentations in Holly and Alice Wingate, along with Bill Smyly, the Brigade Lecture Theatre, with an introduction posed for photos with a new piece of silver obtained given by Lt Col (Retd) Paul Corden, who explained by 77th Brigade to mark the occasion: a statuette of what the event was all about, including the Field Marshal Bill Slim, with a commemorative background to the formation of today’s 77th Brigade inscription plaque engraved with the original and and why it was given the number “77” (to channel new Chinthe badges, a real Burma Star medal the spirit of experimentation and innovation of the attached on one side and a 14th Army badge on the original Chindits/77th Indian Infantry Brigade), and other. After a speech of welcome by Brigadier Chris the Brigade’s pride in its Chindit heritage, depicted Bell OBE, everyone took their places in the Dining by the Chinthe arm badge as a unifying symbol for Room, with the tables laden with silver, candles, the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who serve glassware and napkins. Inside the menu booklets on in it. the tables was a wonderful surprise: Dame Vera Lynn had been invited but, unable to attend, she For the benefit of some of the 77th Brigade personnel had sent a signed photo with the Chindit motto, the in the audience, especially Reservists, who had not boldest measures are the safest, which was printed really met the veterans before, he then explained the inside each booklet, along with a wonderful, Brigade’s links with the Chindit Society and Burma personal message to everyone, and especially to the Star Association. He rounded off with a quick veterans to whom we owe so much. overview of the Brigade’s Battlefield Study trip to Burma in March 2016, including showing a video of It was a memorable event enjoyed by all, and made the trip made by Levison Wood, the famous TV all the more special by the presence of our adventurer, who happens to be a Reservist wonderful veterans. It can certainly be said that this Parachute Regiment Major serving with 77th year’s commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of Brigade. Operation Longcloth has well and truly started!

Dr. Simon Anglim, a Teaching Fellow in the Thanks to Lt. Colonel Paul Corden, for both this Department of War Studies at King’s College article and the one following on page 7. London, then gave a fascinating presentation on the

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Alice Wingate Pearce, Chindit Bill Smyly and Holly Wingate admire the aforementioned statuette of Field Marshall Slim at the Chindwin Dinner. From the same evening, George Fergusson talks with Reg Salisbury about his experiences as a Chindit. A Royal Visit to 77th Brigade

On Wednesday 22nd November last year, HRH Bell OBE, the Brigade Commander. After a Prince Edward the Duke of Kent visited 77th Brigade convivial sit-down lunch, the Duke bade us farewell at Denison Barracks, Hermitage. This gave another and informed the Brigadier that it was the most opportunity for Chindit and Burma Star veterans enjoyable visit he had been on in ages, with meeting and their families/supporters, along with Chindit the veterans being a very special highlight. Society and Burma Star Association organisers, to visit the Brigade. The veterans and their families/supporters were then shuttled by minibus to the Brigade HQ, where While HRH was given his royal tour of the Brigade they were divided into three groups and went on a in the morning, the veterans and their families/ round-robin of three stands to meet some of today’s supporters gathered at the Officer’s Mess. After personnel and learn more about what they do. refreshments and a chance to look at the ever- In the Operations Centre they heard about various popular Burma weapons collection and some current operations the Brigade is supporting, display boards about the two Chindit operations, the including in Estonia, the Middle East and Africa. veterans were given a presentation on today’s 77th Brigade by Lt Col (Retd) Paul Corden, covering the In the Production Area they met some of the highly Brigade’s organisation, role and capabilities. This creative specialists who use civilian artistic talents highlighted that today’s 77th Brigade is concerned such as photography, film production, still and with Information Activities and Outreach at the moving cartoon drawing and other creative design non-lethal end of the spectrum of military methods to get key messages across to selected operations, focusing on changing attitudes and target audiences, and they saw some fascinating behaviours of selected target audiences. examples of their products. Finally, the Task Group explained their various skills and how these can be A group photo was set up for the arrival of HRH, employed on the ground in operational areas. Some who duly took his place on arrival in the Mess. personnel recently returned from the Caribbean then HRH then looked at the weapons display, presented explained their role in the disaster relief operations some replacement medals to the family of a after Hurricane Irma. deceased Burma Star veteran, and then joined the veterans for a lively chat over a glass of sherry, After further refreshments, everyone agreed, it had along with the Viscount Slim and Brigadier Chris been a full, varied and stimulating day.

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Photographs of your Chindit

As part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations for For more information about applying for Army the two Wingate expeditions, the Chindit Service Records, please use the following link: Society are inviting all families to send us http://www.veterans-uk.info electronic or scanned photographs of their own Please contact the Society for more advice on Chindit soldier. These images will be used Chindit research. during the various events advertised in this extra edition of the Chindit Column and need There is also a Chindit related bibliography not necessarily be from the World War II available for members of the Society. This period. Eventually, the collection will be placed document, comprising over 90 titles comes in into a Gallery on our Society website. Please pdf form and is available via email on request. send these, along with some service details of the Chindit depicted to: Please contact us if you would like a copy of the [email protected] bibliography or advice about Chindit research at: [email protected] Do you have a Chindit soldier in the family? nd Would you like to find out more about his On the 22 November last year (2017) many of contribution in 1943 or 1944? One of the aims our Chindit veterans were invited to the of The Chindit Society is to assist families in Denison Barracks, home of the present day 77 accessing information about the two Wingate Brigade, in order to enjoy a lunch in the expeditions and relating this information to presence of HRH The Duke of Kent and the their own Chindit and his experiences. Viscount Slim. If you are not sure, but have heard family The photograph below shows the Chindit stories about a possible Chindit connection, the veterans on parade with our own Chairman, first thing to do is attempt to access his Service Paul Shenton and the VIP guests. Thank you to th Records from the MOD Offices in Glasgow. all at 77 Brigade for a wonderful day.

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Chindit James Rennie Dick

In late November 2015, we Sadly, James’ best pal George Cunningham did received an email contact not return home from Burma. George, from the from the son of Pte. town of Markinch in Fife was a member of 73 2756408 James Rennie Column on Operation Thursday and is listed as Dick, of the 2nd Battalion, having died on the 4th August 1944. The Black Watch. Son Jim He, like so many of his Chindit comrades was told us that his father had originally buried at the Sahmaw War Cemetery, enlisted into the Army at located on the railway line just southwest of Dundee with his best friend, . George Cunningham, and that both men were under age at the time. Given his rather late date of death for a Chindit nd casualty in 1944, it would seem likely that James and George served with the 2 Black George succumbed to either a serious wound or Watch in Crete, North Africa and eventually in disease, rather than being a battle casualty. Burma, where the battalion formed the greater part of Chindit Columns 42 and 73 in the 14th His remains were relocated at Taukkyan War British Infantry Brigade in 1944. From Cemetery on the 30th July 1954 and this is photographic evidence, it is also possible that where he lies today. James may have been involved on Operation Longcloth. As with many veterans from WW2 and especially the Burma campaign, James did not speak openly to his family about his experiences during the war. It is known that he suffered from both tuberculosis and malaria after returning home and endured at least two wounds from his service in North Africa. In 1948, James made the decision to emigrate to Australia.

------The Chindit Society would like to make its membership aware of the charity, Help for Forgotten Allies or H4FA as it is more commonly known. This UK registered charity provides grants and support to native veterans of the Armed Forces, who loyally and selflessly supported the British during the war in Burma, including some of the former Burma Riflemen who served with the Chindits in 1943 and 1944. To learn more about H4FA, please visit the website on: http://www.h4fa.org.uk/veterans

Harold Shippey was a Commando with 20 Column (Lancashire Fusiliers) on Operation Thursday and an active member of both the Burma Star and the Chindit Old Comrade Associations. Sadly, Harold passed away on the 2nd January this year aged 93 years. His son Paul remarked: As Dad got older, he seemed to open up more about his wartime experiences and was pleased to take part in the Channel 4 documentary, Messages Home, Lost Films of the . As his health began to fail him, we would sit and reminisce about his life and the adventures we had as a family. How can you put into words what it was like to follow in the footsteps of a hero like my father. I miss him dearly.

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Kingsman William Paxford Before joining the Forces in January 1940, Geoffrey was employed at the Hull Co- It is our sad duty to inform you that operative Society in the grocery department. He William Paxford passed away on the attended Osborne Street School and was a th 30 October 2017, aged 94. He was a pre-war former member of the Hull Boy's Club. Territorial with a Manchester Battalion and Geoffrey passed away last August (2017) at after being mobilised at the beginning of WW2, home in Cottingham, a large village near Hull. was posted to India. William joined the 1st Battalion of the King’s Dr. Peter Pritchard was educated Regiment and was aboard one of the first at Woodbridge School, followed by gliders to land at Broadway. His funeral took Caius College, Cambridge. He was place at the Howe Bridge Crematorium in awarded the Solly Medal in Medicine Atherton, Manchester. whilst studying at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London where he qualified in 1942. Corporal Geoffrey Rawlings of Peter served with the RAMC during WW2, the Royal Corps of Signals served with with a short spell with 223 Field Ambulance, 7 Column on Operation Longcloth in before joining 77 Brigade in 1944 and flying 1943. For his efforts on the first Wingate into Burma by glider. For his efforts on expedition he was Mentioned in Despatches. Operation Thursday he was awarded a Mention He then received a second MID in recognition in Despatches. th of his service with the 25 Indian Infantry He retired in 1979, after a very successful and Division during the Arakan campaign of 1944. influential career in the NHS. Peter sadly He had also worked on the covert 204 Military passed away on the 6th January this year; he was Mission into China in 1942. just 4 months short of his 100th birthday.

RECENTLY FALLEN COMRADES

Tom Boyle, 2nd Black Watch, 73 Column. January 2016. Ronald Campbell Parkin, 4/9 . 21st January 2016. Gerard Ussher-Smith. April 2017. Geoffrey Rawlings, RCOS, 7 Column 1943. August 2017. William Dennis Hardy, 1st King’s Liverpool. 8th September 2017.

William Albert Paxford, 1st King’s Liverpool. 30th October 2017. Peter McCaughey, 2nd Black Watch. 31st December 2017. Harold A. Shippey. 1st Lancashire Fusiliers. 2nd January 2018. Dr. Peter Pritchard, RAMC. 6th January 2018. William Willetts, 13th King’s Liverpool. January 2018.

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Fogden Family Visit to the National Arboretum VJ Day 2017 After an enjoyable couple of days tidying Dad’s It being VJ Day, the Far East section of the garden, a small contingent of the Fogden family Arboretum was very well attended, including a decided to visit the National Arboretum and take a ceremony held by the Burma Star Association in the look at the Chindit memorial plaque, upon which presence of their President, The Viscount Slim. Here my grandfather’s name, Pte. Arthur Leslie Howney we met Roger Neal, the PR Officer for the is inscribed. Birmingham Branch of the BSA, and the gentleman responsible for the carving of the Chinthe bust, Sister-in-law, Rozzie, nephew, Jack, my brother, which now in bronze form adorns our very own Marc, Dad and I took a leisurely drive up to Chindit Memorial at Alrewas. Alrewas on what was a beautifully sunny day. On arrival at the Arboretum, a first time visit for some Passing by the Burma Star party and entering the of the party, we strolled around the site taking in the Chindit garden area, my family was pleased to see various memorials and features. These included for the Friends of the Chindits plaque, which includes me, the Duke of Lancaster’s memorial, for Rozzie, amongst notable others the name of my grandfather. the Royal Artillery garden and for my Dad, the Although we were all extremely proud to view his memorial for Malayan campaign veterans, of which name, I’m sure we were all thinking how sad it was, he is one through National Service. that his own son, daughter and wife never had the opportunity to see this tribute. After examining the excellent exhibits in the FEPOW Museum, it was disappointing to see that the wall-mounted Roll of Honour was not in working order, due to a software issue. Therefore it was not possible to show the family grandad’s name and prisoner of war details that day.

New Chindit Related Books

Natal Fault, a novel by Dr. Manisha Saxena. Taken from the author’s approach to the Chindit Society: I am an Indian pediatrician turned novelist based at Gujarat, India. Last year my fiction novel Natal Fault was published and I am pleased to inform you that a large part of the novel is inspired by the Chindit operation of 1943. It is a socio-political novel with a medical backdrop as I am a doctor and has a beautiful love story cocooned within it. The novel is both contemporary and classic, as it sets off in the monsoons of 2012 and then goes retro to India of the 1940s, when the freedom struggle was on and the world was engaged in World War 2. The classic part of the novel is inspired by the Wingate operation and the ninety year-old hero of the novel is a Chindit. Find out more about this book on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9352017722/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_LQltAb1RACE8B

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THE CHINDIT COLUMN SPRING 2018 Chindit Society Merchandise The Chindit Society is excited to announce a brand new range of merchandise to its members. The following items are available for order: A metal/enamel pin badge, with the Chindit Society logo in gold on a navy background. Price £3 An embroidered heat press/sew-on patch. Price £5 A stormproof two-colour fabric umbrella in blue and white. With a pistol-grip handle and extra strong fiberglass stem and ribs. The CS logo is printed on the alternative blue panels. Price £20 A 75th Anniversary tie in navy , including the 75th Anniversary logo. Price £12. Ties are currently in production and orders are being taken now for delivery in May.

All orders are subject to postage and packaging charges; these will be agreed before any order is sent out. Please send any orders or enquiries to: [email protected]

With any order, please include the address you wish your goods to be delivered to and a contact telephone number. Payment can be made either by cheque (payable to the Chindit Society) or by Bank transfer (details on request).

Heppell, Smyly and Hutchin, (that well known firm of Chindit Solicitors) at last years Field of Remembrance Ceremony.